Platform(s)

Bubble Bobble (バブルボブル,Baburu Boburu?) is the first game in the Bubble Bobble series, released for the arcade by Taito in 1986. The game is an action-platformer in which players control the twin dragons Bub and Bob, attempting to rescue their girlfriends from the Cave of Monsters.

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Each player controls one of the two dragons, Bub and Bob. The player can hop along platforms, and blow bubbles to trap enemies inside. The player can then pop the bubbles to defeat the enemies, which leave behind food that Bub and Bob can consume for points. Bub and Bob can jump on their own bubbles to reach higher platforms that can not be reached by jumping normally. After defeating all the enemies in a level, the player can move on to the next stage.

If the player takes too long to complete a level, a message appears on the screen that says "Hurry Up!", and the enemies turn angry, which is indicated by them turning red and moving faster. If the stage is not cleared soon afterwards, an invincible enemy known as Skel-Monsta appears and pursues Bub and Bob. The Skel-Monsta disappears after the player either defeats all the enemies or loses a life.

Certain levels contain Special Bubbles, which can be used to defeat enemies in certain ways. There are three main types of Special Bubbles: Thunder, Water, and Fire. Bub and Bob can activate these by popping them in the opposite direction they want the element to go. Thunder Bubbles send a lightning bolt flying horizontally across the screen, defeating all enemies in its path. Water Bubbles send a torrent of water down through the level, sweeping up enemies until it reaches the bottom. Fire Bubbles create a small flame which lands on the ground, setting fire to the area around it, which defeats any enemies that make contact with it. Bub and Bob can also touch the fire, but it paralyzes them until the fire goes out. There is also a rare bubble, simply known as the Special Bubble, that has a 1 in 4096 chance of appearing. If popped, it gives Bub and Bob fire breath for 5 rounds.

Special items can appear that can defeat enemies or allow Bub and Bob to skip levels. If Bub and Bob do not lose any lives up to certain points, secret doors appear that take them to a secret room with numerous gems to collect. If they take too long in the room, however, an enemy known as Rascal appears and chases them in a manner similar to that of Skel-Monsta.

There are 100 levels in Bubble Bobble. At the final level, the player faces the final boss of the game, Super Drunk. Super Drunk moves around the stage, throwing bottles at the player. Bub and Bob are given a Thunder Tonic on the stage that allows them to blow Thunder Bubbles. After being zapped enough times, Grumple Grommit appears in a bubble that Bub and Bob can pop to defeat him. After this, the two can rescue their girlfriends Betty and Patty, along with theirparents in the true ending.

In a certain village where everyone lives peacefully, Bub and Bob lived alongside their girlfriends, Betty and Patty. One day, the two girls left the village to explore the nearby woods, stumbling into a mysterious area known as the Wizard's Forest. Due to their unfamiliar surroundings, the two became lost, accidentally wandering into a cave deep in the forest known as the Cave of Monsters. The girls proceeded to encounter Super Drunk, master of the cave, who kidnapped them and trapped them on the 100th floor. Bub and Bob set out to rescue the two, but ran afoul of Super Drunk as well, who transformed them into Bubble Dragons. Using their newfound abilities, the two set out to journey through all one hundred floors of the cave in order to rescue the girls.

If the game is beaten in multiplayer, Betty and Patty are rescued, but the game informs you you have not reached the true ending. It displays a code to input at the title screen that unlocks Super Mode, which you must beat to reach the true ending.